BOUNDARIES
by sensori
Summary: The Enterprise's latest guest is the target of a lethal assassin, and Kirk and McCoy are caught in the crossfire.


**Title: **_Boundaries_  
**Fandom:** Star Trek 2009  
**Genre:** Drama/Action/Slash  
**Characters:** Kirk/McCoy, General  
**Rating:** T / PG-13  
**Summary: **The Enterprise's latest guest is the target of a lethal assassin, and Kirk and McCoy are caught in the crossfire.  
**Author's Notes:** This is a sequel of sorts to "Seven Hours, Seven Months" though it is loose enough that you don't have to read one to enjoy the other. Plus, "SHSM" is rated NC-17, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea. Comments are awesome. Thanks for reading!

"You think you're ready for this?"

"I don't think. I know."

"It's only gonna get tougher from here."

"Well, if it was easy, it wouldn't be worth trying."

"True... but you know you're gonna lose in the end."

"... We'll see."

A childish grin appeared over Kirk's face as he lifted his phaser and pulled the trigger. Before McCoy could even think to move, the weapon had already been fired.

"Dammit," McCoy exclaimed.

He had done it again. It was the third game of target practice that the captain had won without even putting forth any sort of effort. McCoy stood there between the silvery walls of the Training Room, watching as the hovering sphere was struck down by the red burst of energy fired from Kirk's phaser.

The metallic black sphere fell to the ground and quickly dematerialized in a cloud of holographic vapor. A pair of crude holographic emitters hung from each wall of the Training Room, collectively projecting the false image of hovering spheres throughout the room. The objects phased in an out, appearing and disappearing at random as they levitated about the target range. And just as the training program called for, the devices began to move with much greater speed and evasive patterns as Kirk and McCoy readied their phasers.

"Ready for Round Four?" Kirk asked through a smirk.

"I'm gonna enjoy wiping that schoolyard grin off your face," McCoy replied.

With that, the doctor thrust his weapon forward and pulled the trigger. Kirk quickly followed, firing alongside him, but with little success. The two continued firing as the spheres escaped the path of their attacks time and time again.

"By the way," McCoy spoke, in the middle of the game. "We're doing another round of special medical check-ups, and I'll need to see you in my office tomorrow at 09:00."

"Sure," Kirk said, just barely missing another target. "What kinda check-up?"

McCoy cracked a smile. "A prostate exam."

The look on Kirk's face was utterly priceless. Just as a sphere had come right into his line of fire, his finger slipped. And it was just the chance McCoy needed to take aim and fire.

In a cloud of vapor, the sphere was destroyed by McCoy's phaser blast and a jaunty tune chimed in through the computer to signal the doctor's victory.

"Ten points for the handsome physician in blue."

Kirk wore an infantile frown. "... So not fair."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to be a sore loser?"

"Spock did once, though not in so many words... Then I won a medal."

"James T. Kirk. The only Captain in Starfleet history to receive special recognition for completely breaking the rules. You ought to be ashamed."

McCoy tried to hide it by quickly turning around, but Kirk could have detected the beginnings of a smile on his face from lightyears away. And though McCoy had begun to walk over to the training weapons locker to drop off his phaser, the doctor could hear his captain echoing each of his footsteps from behind.

As McCoy placed the phaser back into its casing, he suddenly could feel the captain's arms slip up around him. Kirk nuzzled his way into the back of McCoy's neck, holding him closely. For a brief moment, all McCoy wanted was to turn around for a full embrace. But the red alert flashing through his mind forced him out of the oncoming daze.

"Jim," McCoy began. His voice was so much softer than he had intended it to be. "Jim, we can't... We agreed."

"We didn't agree," Kirk breathed into his ear, hugging McCoy from behind. "You did a lot of talking, and I did a lot of nodding, and then you just walked out."

"But you knew what I was saying. And I thought you understood."

Kirk let out a brief sigh. McCoy was not incorrect in assuming that Kirk had heard and understood everything they discussed that night two months earlier. About how their duty toward the crew and their mission was of paramount importance, and they could not allow for their prior relationship to impede upon their performance as Senior Medical Officer and Captain of the Enterprise.

But as Kirk stood there, his arms wrapped around the only man he had ever loved, he could hardly bare to consider the idea that he might never find his way there again.

"My judgment as captain hasn't been affected," Kirk proclaimed.

"That's because it hasn't been tested yet," McCoy replied.

Kirk answered his remark with a sudden pause. The doctor knew by the abrupt coldness of his touch that he had said the wrong thing. And though the wagging fingers of Starfleet Admirals and Captains across the quadrant flashed through his mind in protest, McCoy turned around with a loving gaze and kissed him.  
_Finally_, Kirk thought. _The pouty treatment prevails.  
_  
But just as their lips met, the sound of a sliding door could faintly be heard just beyond them, and a pair of chattering voices began to fill the air. Before Kirk and McCoy had time to pull away, Sulu and Uhura had already stepped into the room.

McCoy had never moved so quickly in all the years Kirk had known him. Their lips instantly were disconnected as the doctor frantically pretended to be handling some equipment in the weapons locker. The captain barely moved at all, staring into the frozen expressions of his two officers, who stood there before him, utterly perplexed.

McCoy cleared his throat, stiffening his posture as he said, just a little too loudly "Well, that's enough target practice for today, captain. Your aim is improving nicely. If you'll excuse me, I have some work to do... as Chief Medical Officer."

McCoy knew the moment the words had stumbled out of his mouth that neither of his spectators believed a single syllable. And he was mortified. Kirk considered running after him, but the awkwardness of his situation refused to give up so easily.

"Uh, ya know what," Uhura began. "I forgot I had a project I needed to do before the next evaluation. I think I'll go work on that now."

"Oh," Sulu replied nervously. "I... can help you... with the project... thing."

They were out the door in half a second, leaving the captain to stand alone, with a pair of metal spheres hanging in the air on either side of him.

"End Program," Kirk commanded. And in response to his words, the holographic emitters deactivated, causing the spheres to vanish from around him. "Great... What else can go wrong today?"

And in seconds, Kirk had his answer in the form of a massive jolt to the ship's shields, which rocked the entire training room. Kirk leaped out of the path of the weapons locker as the entire thing came crashing down to the floor at his feet, tipped over by the shock-wave that rumbled across the ship.

Kirk's hand smashed into the console on the wall, signaling the bridge.

"Bridge, report!"

Through the alarm of the Red Alert, the voice of First Officer Spock could be heard over the intercom.

"Two alien vessels of unknown origin have just dropped out of warp. We have been fired upon."

Kirk rushed out of the Training Room with a commanding "Senior Officers to the bridge!"

And as Kirk made his way through the hail of falling debris toward the turbo-lift, the Enterprise's attacker came shrieking across space in a horrific blur of red and black.

As the Enterprise's sensors flashed into focus, the image of two ships hurtling toward them came into view. The first vessel was small, perhaps twice the size of a standard Starfleet shuttle, with a near-triangular shape. It was dwarfed by the second vessel, whose blade-like wings stretched forth, firing a barrage of red particle beams at its smaller target.

The small ship rocked and twisted in space, desperately hoping to evade the oncoming attacks. But each time a stray blast flew by, it struck the hull of the Starship Enterprise instead.

Captain Kirk stumbled from another shield impact as he entered the bridge. Sulu's fingers dashed across the control console, frantically steering the Enterprise out of the line of fire in a blaze of thruster exhaust.

Uhura quickly relieved a junior officer from his post and took a seat, immediately receiving a signal.

"We're being hailed from the smaller vessel!"

At Kirk's command, the viewscreen was activated, revealing the faces of three aliens aboard a decimated ship, through curtains of visual distortion.

"P-Please," cried a strange, echoing voice from beyond the monitor. "We are in urgent need of assistance!  
We're carrying the High Gandor aboard our vessel, but we will not survive without--"

The message was cut off by another wave of enemy fire, blasting away their communications.

Kirk punched the console at his chair.

"Scotty," he called. "Beam those people out of there, now!"

"Aye, captain," Scott replied, furiously tapping the Transporter Room controls to locate every bio-signal on the dying ship.

Kirk sat aboard the bridge, ordering Uhura to hail the attacking vessel in order to request a cease fire. Uhura glanced back at Kirk with a sorry look in her eyes. Her shaking head was all the signal he needed that they were not going to respond to verbal requests alone.

"Lock phasers on the second ship and fire when ready. Target their weapons and shields."

Sulu's hands were already at the weapon's pad, instantly giving the commad to return fire on the enemy vessel. And as a storm of phaser fire ripped through space toward the alien ship, another beam from the opposite side struck its target.

Kirk's eyes widened as the smaller ship was torn apart by a massive explosion. The young captain held his breath as he realized they might be to late...

"We've got them, captain!" Scotty's voice calmed Kirk for only a moment, as the second vessel was still hanging in space before them.

At last, the Enterprise's phasers struck the second ship and its forward weapons array was blasted out of commission. With a massive spin, the vessel came roaring out of sight as it hurled itself into warp speed in the opposite direction.

"Enemy wessel has jumped to warp," Chekov chirped, gleefully.

Kirk breathed a sigh of relief. After a brief request for damage assessments and crew reports, he excused himself from the bridge.

The doors to Sick Bay slid open with a slight hiss as the captain entered the room. He had been informed that, among the three Aljiri crew members rescued, there had been a small injury, prompting a visit to Doctor McCoy's office.

As Kirk stepped into the room, he was immediately struck by the sheer beauty of the life forms that stood before him. McCoy glanced up from behind the broken wrist he was repairing, stiffening his posture on sight of the captain. The three Aljiri all seemed to turn their heads at him in perfect unison.

The aliens all dressed in elegant, black leather, sheathing the incredibly smooth, bronze skin beneath. A slight reflection of the overhead lights could be seen over the surface of their hairless, round heads. And pairs of hypnotic, silver eyes looked upon him with gratitude as he stepped forward.

"Captain Kirk, I presume." The voice that greeted Kirk had a faint echo. It came from the first of the two males. The second male sitting atop Doctor McCoy's bio-bed, allowing the doctor to repair his injuries. "We are indebted to you for saving our lives."

"All in a day's work," the captain laughed. "We're just glad we could help. Is... everything all right?"  
McCoy could have sworn the captain was asking about their own personal problems with the tone of his voice, but he answered from the perspective of a physician tending to his patient.

"A broken wrist, a few scrapes. Nothing I can't handle."

"Officer Malken jumped in front of a control console just before it exploded," said the first alien. "He bravely protected me at the risk of his own life."

"All in a day's work," Malker repeated. "It is my duty to serve you, Lord Allem. Something I believe I have in common with those that rescued us."

Malken nodded in gratitude at Kirk, whom he must have believed to be a kindred spirit. The female Aljiri clung tightly to the arm of Lord Allem. As beautiful as her eyes were, they were clearly trembling in fear after all that had happened.

Kirk decided that he was hungry. And that there would be no better way to become acquainted with his guests than to hold a dinner with the five of them. Himself, his three Aljiri passengers... and Dr. McCoy.

McCoy's complaints rang in Kirk's ears all the way from the turbo-lift down the corridor until they would arrive at the Captain's Dining Hall. The doctor tugged uncomfortably at the tight collar of his dress uniform, questioning his friend as to why he would have to attend this dinner at all. It was clear to Kirk that McCoy was still unsettled by the awkward moment between them, Uhura, and Sulu just a few hours earlier.

McCoy grew even more grumpy at the sight of Kirk's smile. The little bastard knew that he was already starting to forgive him. Even when Bones was yelling right at him, he couldn't hide the basic fact that he still cared for him. But there was little time to discuss it any further, as they had arrived at the dinner hall.

Kirk tried not to show the obvious discomfort he felt when he realized McCoy was not sitting next to him at the dinner table. Instead it was Officer Malken that sat to his right, while the High Gandor, Lord Allem sat to his left. The young, beautiful Lady Isha sat at her husband's side. And, once she finally got used to all the bright lights on the ship, she began to relax around her alien hosts.

"I took the liberty of replicating some Earth foods for you to sample," Kirk said. "I hope you like trying new things."

"I do, captain," Allem replied.

McCoy could see a hint of nervousness in Kirk's eyes as he continued the exchange with the Aljiri. The young captain knew how to fire a phaser when he needed to, but was still quite inexperienced in handling interspecies affairs. As he watched from afar, McCoy began to wish that he had chosen to sit next to him, if that might have brought him any extra comfort at all.

"Ah, yes," Allem continued. The captain's next question caused him to pause. "The Aljiri who attacked us do not serve the lawful government of my people. They were hired by a rogue faction which seeks to usurp my throne."

"And why is that?" McCoy chimed in.

"It's quite simple," Malken replied. "They do not agree with Lord Allem's choice for a mate."

Kirk and McCoy exchanged glances.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," Kirk said.

Isha cast a concerned look in her husband's direction, but he failed to see it in time. After a moment of hesitation, he answered.

"I'm not certain if the Federation recognizes the rights of artificial life forms, but the Aljiri take such matters very seriously... My wife is a hologram."

Kirk almost choked on his steak as the alien king continued.

"And because there are some who believe that an organic being should not be mated with an artificial one, we have been shunned by many. The death threats increased every month after the announcement of our marriage. And I'm sorry to say that this attack was not the first time we've come into contact with violence in response to my union with Isha. Though this was certainly the most dangerous."

Isha knew that she suddenly had every eye in the room transfixed upon her. Kirk had to fight the urge to stare. McCoy simply gave in. He had sat there for half an hour, watching her ingest food just like everyone else. She seemed particularly fascinated with the peas and carrots. Scotty must have seen her life-signs when he beamed her aboard. The first time McCoy had seen her in Sick Bay, she was perspiring right before his eyes. In every conceivable way, she appeared entirely real. At least as real as either of the other two Aljiri that sat at the table with him.

"I'm sorry," Kirk began, slightly flustered. "I don't mean to be rude, but... Your wife is a hologram? As in a projection?"

Isha elaborated. "A highly sophisticated projection of photons and forcefields. My father was also a hologram. He and my mother designed me thirty-seven years ago. I was born, grew through adolescence, and entered Aljiri society the way any other person would."

"In the Third Year of Kelm," Allem began. "My predecessors declared that all sentient artificial beings would henceforth be granted the same rights and protections as any biological Aljiri citizen. That was seven years ago, captain. And yet I fear we have made almost no progress since those times."

Kirk was amazed. "Forgive me, sir. It's just that we've never encountered this kind of technology before. Our holographics are nowhere near this advanced. And we most definitely can't interact with them the way... you guys seem to."

Kirk tried to laugh, though the Aljiri all looked at each other as though they didn't understand what was so amusing.

McCoy kept wondering where her emitter was. There must be some kind of device hidden under her clothes that was projecting her image, stuck to the flesh-like forcefield that framed her body.

"You don't seem to approve," Malken said, surprisingly.

McCoy barely managed to swallow his mouthful of Deltan Wine. He had somehow convinced himself that he was being inconspicuous about his fascination with Isha. But it was quite obvious to the intuitive aliens that something about her was unsettling to him.

"Oh," McCoy stammered. "It's just not something I'm used to. Our people don't have sentient machines."

"Machines?" Malken said. The humans could sense in the increased echo of his voice that he was offended by the use of such a crude descriptive.

"I'm sure Doctor McCoy meant no offense," Kirk insisted.

"Of course not," Malken continued. "It's perfectly natural to distrust those who are beyond your understanding."

"Excuse me?" McCoy asked. He would curse himself later for letting it slip out, but if there was anyone at that table that had crossed a line, he felt it was Officer Malken. Not himself.

"Malken," Lord Allem spoke in a commanding tone. The officer immediately lowered his head in silence as Allem turned to his hosts with a diplomatic smile. "Thank you for the meal, captain."

With that, dinner was ended. McCoy yanked his collar open as he marched out of the room at warp speed. With a gesture from his king, Malken accompanied Lady Isha to her guest quarters aboard the Enterprise.  
Lord Allem stood at the opposite end of the dining hall, he and Kirk both staring out beyond the glass of the windows as an infinite kaleidoscope of stars rushed by. The Enterprise was on its way back into Aljiri space to return their High Gandor to his planet after a very eventful holiday.

"You must forgive Malken," the king spoke after taking another sip of his wine glass. "He is not only my personal guard, but my sister's husband. He is very protective of me."

"He's a good man," Kirk replied. "I completely understand. But about Doctor McCoy--"

"No need for apologies, captain. We understand that not all societies have the same views toward artificial beings. It took our people almost a century to recognize them as citizens. I don't expect your crew to accept it within a day."

"If we've made your people uncomfortable in any way--"

"Not at all. In fact, I find your species quite refreshing. Your emotions are so clear. So up front. A quality we Aljiri sometimes lack. Instead, some of our people hide their true feelings behind the barrel of a phaser rifle."

"Still, it's amazing- some of the things you've accomplished already."

"Perhaps..."

"You don't agree?"

Allem stepped closer to the captain and looked to him directly. The outline of his silver pupils seemed to flare up slightly in response to his heightened emotion.

"Have you ever been persecuted for loving someone that everyone around you thought was wrong? Had to dodge a bundle of trash, thrown at you as you walk down the street? Heard hateful slurs cast in your direction simply for holding someone's hand?"

Kirk found that he was unable to respond. Never in his life had he experienced a moment when his affections for another had stirred up such hatred from others.

Allem finished the last of his wine and took one final glance at the wondrous field of stars that shimmered before him.

"If you have ever known someone that you loved that much- enough to cry for them, to bleed for them, perhaps even to die for them- then you might understand at least a fraction of what I feel now... Good night, captain."

Kirk drank his glass empty as the words of the departing Aljiri repeated in his mind. His thoughts drifted back to the time he shared with Dr. McCoy, down on that nameless planet, where they spent an entire seven months alone together.

He felt like such a fool for having treated McCoy the way he had when they first returned to the Enterprise. Compared to what Allem and Isha were faced with, his conflict with McCoy was trivial at best. He saw no reason why the two of them should not embrace their feelings. And be glad in the fact that, no matter how difficult it was for them to be together, it was nothing compared to what some people were forced to endure.

Kirk retired that night expecting that, once this new mission was completed, he would find a way to talk to McCoy and work through their difficulties. And this time he would do more than nod quietly while Bones talked for an uninterrupted hour.

Doctor McCoy found himself hovering over some medical samples he had been meaning to study for the better part of a week. It was four hours before the start of his shift, but the chaos of recent events had forced him out of his slumber much earlier than he expected and there was simply no way he could get back to sleep once he was awake. He decided to give Dr. Ledger the rest of his shift off, and take his spot in the empty Sick Bay.

But just as he began to study his samples, he heard the door open from across the room. McCoy turned in surprise to find that Lady Isha had just entered the quiet Sick Bay.

"Miss Isha," McCoy said in confusion. "Is everything all right?"

"Oh no," she began. "Everything is fine. I suppose I just couldn't sleep. I've always been like that. If it isn't my own bedroom, I stir for hours until I finally decide to go do something with myself. I was just exploring."

Doctor McCoy could not hide his fascination.

"So you do sleep?"

Isha laughed. "Of course I sleep. I get tired, just like everyone else."

"But you don't really _require_ sleep, do you? In your case, I would assume it's more a question of recharging your holographic emitter."

"I grow tired because my parents grew tired before me. I was programmed with a combination of the traits of my mother and father, who gave birth to me, and raised me in much the same way I imagine your parents raised you."

"But why would they bother programming you with a humanoid weakness like that? You don't have to be like us. You're not re--"

McCoy stopped himself. His continued curiosity had overcome his sense of manners. Regardless of what he thought of the being that stood before him, it was not his place to pass judgment upon the ways of another culture. No matter how strange the thought of falling in love with a programmed creation seemed to him. He suddenly realized that Malken's comments toward him the night before might have had a hint of validity.

"I mean, uh..."

Before McCoy could trip over himself any further, Isha pulled forth a small, black and silver disc.

"I'd like to show you my home," she said.

"Oh, you have photographs?"

"Something like that..."

McCoy grew nervous at the appearance of a smirk on the young woman's face. She lifted the disc in front of their faces and dropped her hand. The doctor was intrigued to find that the disc did not fall to the ground, but instead began to hover in the air between them.

And suddenly, a brilliant light burst forth from the disc, exploding across the room in an ever-expanding wave of energy. An unnatural wind rushed through McCoy's hair as a rush of images flooded the room, seemingly transforming it before his eyes.

McCoy watched in astonishment as the bio-beds and medical consoles were transformed into beautiful mounds of smooth, black marble. The walls fell away with the gust of a sweet-smelling wind. And as McCoy looked around him, it seemed as though he was no longer in Sick Bay. Or even on the Enterprise.

The doctor let out an uncontrollable laugh of amazement as he and Isha stood upon a great mountaintop, an endless, green sky stretching out before them. Through a path of silvery-gray clouds, an emerald star shined majestically upon the vast planes of tall grass and marble rock below. An intoxicating aroma lingered about them as strange, luminescent particles twinkled in the surrounding air.

"Where are we?" McCoy asked, after finally catching his breath.

"Right where we were a moment ago," Isha replied. "In the Sick Bay of your ship. But now it looks and feels like a part of my planet. It is called Mount Laska. I climbed this mountain on my twenty-third birth-date. I decided I could not leave it without remembering every detail."

McCoy could just barely hear Isha as he stared out into the breathtaking view. Every sight, sound, and smell was utterly flawless. It was real!

"Thank you for showing me this," he said.

"Consider it a gift for saving me and my husband... I know that it is not easy for people to change their views on the lifestyle of others. And I understand your reluctance to accept the concept that I could be more than just a device that my husband plugs into the wall every night to recharge. I forgive those who do not understand. In truth, even I have doubts."

"Really?" McCoy asked, earnestly. The woman that stood before him had such a graceful posture now. So different from when he first met her, clinging to her husband to protect her from the strange aliens. There was a great deal of strength in her that he had failed to see before. A strength he envied.

"Of course I have doubts," she said. "I think, and feel, for myself. I know in my heart that I am real. An Aljiri woman, married to the man I love. But because Allem has chosen to marry me, he will suffer. He tries to deny it, but I know that he desperately wishes to have a child. One that is apart of both him and I. But that will never happen, because no matter how much we love each other, we cannot have a son or daughter in the way that organics do."

The pupils of Isha's eyes began to flare as she looked up at the doctor. It looked to him as though the weight of the galaxy was resting upon her shoulders.

She reluctantly continued. "This is also why some disagree with my marriage to the Gandor. Whether they accept me as a person or not, they see my inability to procreate with Allem as a sign that the gods do not wish for us to be together."

"That's ridiculous. Not even all organic couples are capable of baring children. Aljiri or otherwise."

"But these are the kind of problems we face. Whether those people are right or wrong, I still cannot give my husband a child."

"Yeah..." McCoy was struck by her words. She spoke from her heart. Whether that heart was conceived through organic means or a complex series of subroutines, it was real. Her life mattered. And it was threatened by an angry mob of fools who were somehow less compassionate than this woman made of forcefields.

"Still," McCoy said. "At least you have each other."

The flare in Isha's eyes faded as she took comfort in the doctor's words. Those six simple words seemed to ease her suffering in a way that neither of them expected. Because her thoughts were back with the one she cared for most.

And McCoy could not escape the fact that his words could apply to him and the captain as well. Through whatever trials they may face, as long as they were together, little else mattered.

Isha and McCoy stared out into the distance and watched as a second sun began to rise from beyond the horizon...

Elsewhere on the ship, Captain Kirk walked the corridors toward the turbo-lift to the bridge, trying to put McCoy out of his mind until after the completion of their mission. But just as he approached the turbo-lift, he found that Lieutenant Uhura had just begun to step inside.

"Hold the door," Kirk exclaimed, rushing up to greet her.

Uhura wore a slightly annoyed look on her face. Cranky as always in the early hours of the day. It didn't help that this was the first time she had seen the captain, other than the earlier battle, since the incident in the Training Room with Doctor McCoy.

"Good morning," Kirk said, a little too enthusiastically.

"Morning," Uhura replied flatly.

An awkward pause as the turbo-lift doors closed before them.

"So, uh... About yesterday in the Training Room."

"Don't even worry about it, sir. I didn't see a thing."

Kirk did not know what to say next. He had practically scripted how this entire conversation was supposed to go in his mind, and Uhura had begun ad libbing. He had no lines prepared for such a response.

"Oh. Well, I mean..."

"Honestly, it's not that much of a surprise. Spock's been speculating for weeks now that something was going on between you two."

"What? Spock knows too?"

"Relax, I didn't tell him anything. And before you ask, Sulu and I both agreed not to even go there. It's really none of our business."

"Well, I consider you guys friends of ours," Kirk insisted. Uhura's eyebrows lifted slightly at being referred to as a friend. "I mean, it's good that you know... sort of."

"Look." Uhura turned directly toward Kirk with a much friendlier look about her than when she first entered the turbo-lift. Her face was one of genuine concern. This was entirely new territory for the two of them, and Kirk spent the whole rest of the exchange silently praying that he would not find some way to completely ruin it. "I know what it's like to be... involved with someone you work with. You didn't judge me and Spock. It'd be pretty ridiculous of me to judge you and Doctor McCoy for almost the same thing."

"Almost..."

"Well, yeah. You are the captain, after all. But if we're really friends, then there's no way I wouldn't support you... Just don't let any of the suits back at Starfleet get wind of it."

Kirk paused. They were having a moment. He could not help but smile.

But suddenly, their joviality was stunted by a loud roar. The lights of the turbo-lift flickered erratically before the doors parted. Kirk and Uhura rushed onto the bridge to their stations.

"Not again," Kirk whispered to himself. "Report!"

"The enemy vessel has returned," Spock announced. "And it seems to have brought some assistance."

Visual sensors activated, filling the viewscreen with the image of at least twelve Aljiri ships, all shrieking into view in a massive wave, launching particle beams toward the lone Starfleet vessel.

"Full power to forward shields. Evasive pattern Gamma Two. Fire all weapons!"

Sulu's fingers dashed over the helm, jolting the ship to one side, narrowly escaping the path of the enemy's attack and firing photon torpedoes.

Space was lit up by the radiant blue light of the torpedoes rocketing toward their targets. But as Chekov studied his sensor readings, he was astonished to find that their weapons seemed to pass right through the ships. Before he could recheck his readings, the bridge was struck by another massive blast, drowning out his console with a scattered frenzy of random numbers and letters.

The ship was rocked hard by a continuous barrage of weapons fire. But as Spock's eyes scanned his console, he made an intriguing realization. Dozens of blasts were fired from the swarm of ships. But the computer only registered a few impacts for each volley that was fired. As though there was only one ship firing.

"Captain," Spock began. "Sensors indicate the presence of photonic energy, on a scale that we have never before encountered."

"What are you trying to say, Spock?"

"Given that our weapons have proven useless to nearly all the ships firing upon us, I must assume that most of them are merely decoys. Holographic projections, created by the one real ship among them."

Kirk's eyes widened in astonishment as he glanced back at the viewscreen, displaying a small army of ships all firing at once. Ingenious, he thought. A single ship was projecting what looked like a near unbeatable horde of enemies. But as long as the Enterprise continued firing at the decoys, it was suffering all of the damage and doing none to its true target.

"Scan for evidence of holographic emitters."

As the captain shouted orders, the crew rapidly worked to carry out his plan. Sulu sent the ship roaring into a massive spin, evading every blast he could, whether they be real or projected.

Chekov coordinated with Spock's readings to triangulate the source of the holographic emissions.

"Target acquired!"

The Enterprise blasted its way forward with the full force of its thrusters. One after another, the decoy ships dematerialized as the Enterprise rammed its way directly through them, and sent a blaze of torpedoes hurtling toward their true target.

A fierce explosion rippled across the hull of the enemy ship, disabling its emitters. And in one swift wave of scattering light, the remaining decoys were destroyed.

Uhura continued to hail the Aljiri aboard the ship in the hopes of stopping the battle before it became fatal for either vessel. But the enemy refused to respond. It simply kept firing as it flew in a straight line toward the Enterprise. As though they knew that their ship was about to be lost.

"A kamikaze run?!" Sulu exclaimed in disbelief.

"SULU!" Kirk screamed, ordering him to take the Enterprise out of the enemy's path. But even if Sulu's hands moved at the speed of light, he would not have been able to move them in time.

Scotty frantically shunted every last ounce of power into the forward shields with a split second remaining.

"Brace for impa--"

The ship collided with the saucer section of the Enterprise, silencing the captain with a jolt so powerful that he was thrown backwards from his seat, flipping wildly through the air, and finally crashing on the cold floor behind his chair.

Through a screen of blurred vision, Kirk looked up just in time to see a chunk of flaming metal soar over his head and strike the wall next to him. Bruised and battered, the crew struggled back to their posts.

Kirk felt the strong hand of his First Officer grip him by the arm and lift him to his feet.

"Are you all right?" Spock asked, ignoring the trail of green blood that trickled from his own forehead.

"Fine," Kirk said, regaining his senses.

The captain turned back to his people and a wave of reports was thrown at him. The enemy ship had been completely destroyed. And with it, the Enterprise's shields were lost. Primary sensors gone. Internal sensors barely readable. Artificial gravity failing on seven separate decks of the ship.

And a single Aljiri transporter signal...

Thirteen decks below the bridge, Lord Allem gripped his shoulder in pain as he was lifted up by Officer Malken. Isha rushed into his embrace the moment he stood upright, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

"I'm fine," Allem whispered, trying not to frighten her. "I'm right here."

"My lord," Malken said, sternly. "We must leave this room immediately. It isn't safe."

"No safer than out there," Isha spoke.

"Gandor!" Malken said, ignoring her words.

"Fine," Allem responded. "Let us go."

Malken stood by as Allem and Isha stepped past him, and exited the room. But as they walked out into the hazy corridor, a shadow appeared behind them.

Pulling forth a disruptor pistol, the Aljiri assassin stepped forth and began to take aim at Isha's left pocket. His finger curled up around the trigger.

Suddenly, Isha was startled by the sound of two bodies colliding behind her. The king's head whipped around just fast enough to see as Doctor McCoy came rushing into view, tackling the assassin with all his strength.

The startled Aljiri pulled the trigger, blindly firing a single burst into the ceiling. McCoy hurled a fist into the Aljiri's face, but the alien barely responded. A spectral cry escaped his throat as he kicked the doctor with such force that he was thrown across the hall, slamming him into the wall.

"Malken!" Allem called, ordering his guard to protect him and his wife. But the look on Malken's face sent a shiver down the king's back as he realized his officer was not moving. He merely stood there and watched, a hateful look in his eyes as he glared at Isha.

The assassin let out a venomous shriek of anger as he lifted his weapon to fire. But before he could shoot, a streak of red energy blasted the disruptor out of his hand, shattering the weapon as it flew from his fingers.

Captain Kirk stepped out of the corner entrance of the turbo-lift, the barrel of his phaser searing with the evidence of his precision shot. And his next shot was trained at the assassin's heart.

McCoy looked up in a daze, astonished to find that, when Kirk fired his phaser, the blast flew right through the assassin's chest, sending a ripple of visual distortions throughout his body.

Isha gasped. The assassin was a hologram!

McCoy watched in horror as Kirk fired again, and again, as the screaming hologram came running toward the captain, curling his hands into fists. Suddenly, McCoy remembered the strange disc that Isha had pulled from her pocket in order to create the image of her homeworld.

McCoy looked up from across the corridor and screamed "His pocket! Shoot his pocket!"

At a complete loss for explanation, Kirk aimed and fired perfectly at the assassin's left coat pocket, but the shot passed right through him as he ran and leaped into the air to strike him down.

"NO!" McCoy cried as the hologram came rushing down at the captain.

But with the flick of his wrist, Kirk fired his phaser into the assassin's right pocket. In an blinding flash, the hologram dematerialized as the phaser blast came slashing right through the disc-shaped device in its pocket. Kirk had shot its holographic emitter, and the projection vanished just as it had begun to fall over him.

Before Kirk could lower his weapon, McCoy was in his arms. And even as a security team began to approach from down the hall, the doctor startled him with a loving kiss.

But it soon became clear that there was still work left to be done. At Kirk's command, security officers yanked the weapon from Officer Malken's side and held him away from the others.

Lord Allem looked upon him in a mix of sorrow and disgust.

"Did you hire them to kill me?" he asked. He could hardly bring himself to speak the words.

The shimmer in Malken's eyes was blown wide open. "Not you..."

All eyes were once again transfixed on Lady Isha. A single tear trickled down Allem's face as he realized that all that he had gone through in the past thirty-six hours was because of Malken.

"How could you do this?" McCoy asked. "You're married to his sister, for god's sake."

"Exactly!" Malken shouted, a feverish sweat forming over his face. "Do you have any idea the kind of shame you've cast upon your family? By marrying that creature, you've offended us all."

"It's natural to distrust those that are beyond your understanding," Kirk parroted. "That's what you said to us at dinner last night... It's too bad I didn't realize what you were _really_ trying to say. Might have saved us some trouble."

Malken glared up at McCoy, who had nothing but disdain for what he had done. "I would have thought you, of all people, would understand. You feel as I do, don't you? That this... union... is unnatural!"

"Fella," McCoy began. "You and I are **nothing** alike... Can we get this trash off our ship now, please?"

And with a nod from the captain, Malken was dragged away in the arms of the security team. The ghostlike sound of his cries echoed endlessly through the halls as he disappeared from sight.

Isha's fingers delicately reached for the burned remnants of the disc that sat on the floor. She lifted a piece of the device as she stood up, staring quietly at the damaged parts within. There was no way to repair such corrupted materials. The assassin was dead. While the man who hired him would live on, consuming the prison food provided by the Aljiri government. Something about it felt so strangely unfair.

Isha lingered only for a moment before she felt the warmth of her husband's body from behind. Kirk smiled. The image of the two of them reminded him of the moment he had shared with McCoy in the Training Room. Before they were interrupted by Sulu and Uhura, of course.

Kirk glanced over at McCoy and he nodded back at him. Neither one of them could have succeeded that day without the help of the other. They were linked. Hopelessly. Inexplicably.

Three days passed before the Enterprise was able to reach the planet Aljirus. And in that time, Kirk and McCoy were called upon to do their duty, as Captain and Chief Medical Officer.

But as Captain Kirk passed by Sick Bay with a digital PADD full of damage assessment reports, he would slow his pace just slightly. And he would glance through Sick Bay as he walked, giving a nod to Doctor McCoy as he patched up another injury.

And when every patient was treated and Sick Bay was emptied, the doctor would find his captain in a quiet corner of the Engineering Deck to give him an update on the crew's medical status. And as the unending hum of the warp core vibrated all around them, and they found that there was no one but the two of them, their lips would meet.

After several days aboard the Enterprise, Allem and Isha were saddened to at last say goodbye. And after all that had happened between them, Kirk and McCoy were both sorry to see them leave. The husband and wife stepped onto the Transporter Room pad and smiled fondly at their protectors, and friends.

"Thank you," Allem said. "For all that you have done for us. We will not forget you."

"Likewise, Gandor," Kirk agreed. "Be safe."

Isha glanced at McCoy and could feel the heaviness of his heart.

"I wish you both all the happiness in the galaxy."

McCoy cleared his throat, flashing his captain a quick look. "Thank you, Lady Isha... Take care of yourselves."

With that, Kirk gave the command to "energize" and Scott activated the transporter. Kirk was amazed. Even as the two of them began to disappear, Isha and Allem looked deeply into each other's eyes. They were ready to face the world together. No matter the controversy.

"Feel like takin' a walk?" McCoy asked suddenly.

"Yeah," Kirk replied, warmly. "Let's go."

Jim and Bones headed through the Transporter Room doors together, talking softly, and laughing. Scott's head lifted up in confusion as he stood from his seat at the transporter console, uncertain of what he had just witnessed.

"I've got a great idea," Jim said as they walked down the hall.

"Yeah?" Bones asked. "What's that?"

"How about a game of target practice?"

McCoy rolled his eyes as he continued his walk with the captain....


End file.
